Giant Food Stores opened two new replacement stores on November 11. Above, Harrisburg Store Manager Sherry Beitler, center, her husband Chris, who is a store manager at a Giant in Lebanon, son Evan and Erik Keptner, senior vice president, sales, marketing and merchandising for Giant, were on hand to greet associates and guests at the preview.

Giant Food Stores hosted grand opening celebrations for two replacement stores this month. The new stores in Harrisburg and Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, both opened on November 11.

Giant moved its Colonial Park supermarket across the road from its former location to 5074 Jonestown Road. The 66,000 square foot store, located in a former Gander Mountain location, boasts one of the largest wine and beer departments in the chain with more than 500 varieties of wine.

The new layout provides an open, “easy to shop” layout for its customers by flowing the wine and beer department, floral, deli, bakery, produce, meat and seafood departments around the perimeter.

“This gives us a lot more fresh exposure,” says Erik Keptner, senior vice president, sales, merchandising and marketing for Giant Food Stores. “We offer a selection of ethnic, Asian, natural and organic produce and cut vegetables. You’ll see more varieties in this store than others.”

He notes that Giant is testing some new products at the store to see if customers are interested in buying them.

A Starbucks Coffee Bar is conveniently located to seating, which allows shoppers to enjoy their take out foods, coffee, beer or wine.

Giant installed a modular pharmacy in this location, which helped get the store open quickly. It is positioned next to the front checkout for better visibility. Shoppers have one-stop shopping with the ability to get their prescriptions and flu shots where they pick up their groceries.

The self-checkout stations feature a new layout at this location. The bullpen flow separates the customers who are using self-checkout out and provides a good flow to the exit.

Giant added 800 new associates at this location, bringing its total to 250 employees.

The company opened its 67,000 Brookhaven replacement store on the same day. The newly built supermarket is located at 4930 Edgemont Road, just down the road from its former location.

The supermarket features Giant’s newest layout, which again emphasizes its fresh departments. The deli area offers prepared foods, including salads, freshly prepared sushi, subs, sandwiches and wraps to eat-in or take home. This store also features a larger Beer Garden and a full selection of wine.

An in-store pharmacy is a new addition to the store. It opens 7-days a week for shoppers to order and pick-up their prescriptions, and get advice from the pharmacists.

The store is constructed with products to reduce energy consumption and its operational impact on the environment. The company is pursuing LEED (Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

In celebration of the openings, Giant made donations to area schools, fire and police departments and local food banks.